Vodacom Tanzania extends M-Pesa to Uganda
CAPTION: Vodacom client makes a transaction in Dar es Salaam recently. (File photo).
By Agencies
DAR ES SALAAM – Vodacom Tanzania and Thunes have partnered to allow the telco’s clients to pay merchants in Uganda and China directly from their mobile phones.
Using Thunes’ direct global network, Vodacom users can send payments to merchants in Uganda using MTN MoMo and to Chinese merchants through the Alipay network, via the M-Pesa USSD interface or theM-Pesa Super App.
Thunes said that there has been growing demand from Tanzanian traders who engage in commerce with Ugandan and Chinese markets but often face challenges with costly, slow, and insecure payment methods.
The two countries are also regarded as key trade corridors for Tanzania.
For eight consecutive years, China has been Tanzania’s largest trading partner, with bilateral trade hitting US$8.8 billion in 2024.
Thunes said that in the same year, bilateral trade between Tanzania and Uganda reached approximately $2.23 billion, an increase of 64% on the previous year.
The partners said that the integration is designed to simplify payment workflows while maintaining security and transaction traceability.
The partnership is designed to simplify payment workflows while maintaining security and transaction traceability. (Source: WorldRemit Comms on Flickr via CC 2.0.)
Customers to make cross-border payments in real-time
Thunes SVP for Network Dawei Wang said by combining Vodacom’s technology with Thunes’ network, Tanzanian customers can pay partners in China and Uganda in real time.
Wang added that the innovation accelerates interoperability along with international trade and business growth and supports Thunes’ vision of connecting the next billion end-users to the global economy.
“This is more than just a payment feature; it is a catalyst for economic empowerment and a gateway for small and medium businesses and entrepreneurs in Tanzania to compete and thrive in regional and global markets,” explained Vodacom Tanzania M-Pesa Director Epimack Mbeteni.
The partnership aims to be an enabler for consumers and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that need reliable and quick financial tools such as mobile money.
A 2025 GeoPoll survey on Tanzania Financial Services and Usage found that 94% of the survey’s respondents use mobile money.
The partnership is in line with Vodacom Tanzania’s over US$100 million investment in a technology modernization program, one of the largest infrastructure investments in its 25 years of operation in the country.
Vodacom Tanzania is the country’s biggest mobile operator with 35 million mobile subscribers at the end of the first quarter of 2026, according to data from Omdia.
Vodacom Tanzania was followed by Yas Tanzania, which Omdia’s market intelligence placed at 33 million users; and Airtel Tanzania, which had 24 million subscribers around the same period.
The fourth biggest operator was Halotel, with almost 19 million users. The smallest by far was TTCL, with almost 1.8 million subscribers at the end of March 2026.
